Toward a Green Future - John Zeller

 Before

After

When approaching this project there were three primary thoughts that came to me. They were:

1.   Concrete is hard and cold. I wanted to do something to soften and "green up" the environment.

2.   "Green up" led me to think about how the generation passing through Mesa College will have to tomorrow's challenges regarding clean energy and the environment.

3.   Mesa College is an institution of learning so what I propose should provoke thought and provide inspiration.

First I researched quotes on "green quotes" and came up with several that I liked. The two I chose were my favorites but the others could be used in other places with similar artwork. I chose the grass and wind generator art to invoke the idea of green spaces and the appreciation of nature in an area composed of concrete.

I found inspiration in Thomas Tyrone Comfort’s WPA mural work, particularly his San Pedro High School murals that were painted 1937. Many of his works had a somewhat flat quality so I took it a step further and used flat vector imagery with a slight Art Deco quality. Where his murals focused on the then current California industries of farming and ship building, mine look toward the future challenges that will face today’s students—renewable energy and global warming.

John Zeller